Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1887-10-14

"Oh, you should not tease me 80 cruelty"
she cried Il know bow You look, MS we'll as
if | had seed You a thousand times
allow do look he asked hoarsaly
He was determined to irnin the bitter cup
to the dregs
You are tall AMI b autiful," she answered,
with touching enthusiasm you have reck
less fling in your walk, and your hair curls
densely about your templas. Gou have the
kind of eyes which win the hearts Of the girls,
full of light ami reckless ROBUSTNESS. You
need not deny it, sir. she went on, with limo
cent archness Il shan't be jealous | shant
ask how many love aff;rirS you've had"
Each of her words stabbed him to the very
heart he clenched lIS teeth to smother cry
of pain She sat sInili-g with sweet conf
dence, absorbed i'll her happy vision.
do you know. she continued 'how
found out how you looked. did not ask
grandmother, because did not wish to know
it all at once but | wanted to have something
to wonder about III my long leisure, some
thing TO fill the empty darkness about me,
and 50 thought ouI frnture by feature how
you looked And whenever my fancy stepped.
| only said half aloud to myself, Harold voL
Craven. and there WAS such proud ring III
the name that my fancy leaped forward
again and knew at once how Harold Won
Craven must look
He could endure it no longer His soul.
stretched upon the rack, writhed with ex
uuisite pain. With CROPPING hands he
seized hold of low hanging branch above
him and pulled himself up His limbs seemed
numb and dead and his gait unsteady A
strange responsibility, as OF beginning in
toxication. took possession of him. He moved
lway but he did not know where he was
gong Thought seemed an intolerabie vexd
ton He was weary-weary unto death.
".
For week perhaps, ne did not see her.
and when lie called the next time, he found
the grandmother alone He begged her for
Gods sake. not TO tell Helen Of hls defornity,
or mention his nickname III her presence
The agitation in his manner and the distress
in his voice impressed the Old woman, and she
promised what h. asked. She then began Ia
whiinp + IN her wouted fashion, aboM the
bad times mud the hard lot of The poor. 81
am u peggin. down hill. sir said She, look
lie under the sod What will there then I've
for the little lass hut the poor house. If she
only had her sight, sIr-then she could take
care OF herself for she is smart epoHgh, God
bless her and She has uncommon sense But
to be on the pnrish-a sensitive thing like her
it will be misery sir it'll be misery
She gave him quick warning glance as
Helen entered, and he understood thaT be
was not to allude To the melancholy topic
The girl was pale and there was a siiyness
in her greeting which took nun sback,
She blushed and moved her hands merry
ously Something new and strange lad come
between them The cid happy unconcern
was gone The anxiety in her manner. as
after a brief talk OF Indifferent things he rose
to go, was pitiful. 1t was ali she could do to
mold back her tears and he heard
her sobs and the grandmothers sooth
ing murmur the moment he was out of the
door He guessed that his hope had
come true ami what had once been his hap
piness became now burden, an agonizins
lilemma. How gladly he would have opened
his arms to her and said Helen. my dar
ing. | love YOU But the very touch of him
would have revealed his deception. and she
would have shrunh hack from him crying,
Who are you
1t was his lost, Youthful self she loved II
was Harold Won Craven the daring beautiful
/ iad-it was not Crooked John And yet
and vet-could she not learn to love Crooked
johns All II it had not been for the beautl
| full Harold Won Craven perhaps she might
have loved Crooked John If he had only
had the courage 10 say to her Il lost my
health, my strength my youth to save this
valley from destruction. | am a misShapen
cripple who has none III the world but YOU to
love Can you not in your mercy give one
little grain of love to soace my miserable
lifef-if he had had the courage to speak
thus, say, perhaps she would, out of the
abundance of her womamly pity have drop
ped tear upon the memory of the beautiful
Harold Won Craven and loved Crooked John
But now-lt was too late
| But his great, heroic deed-not the long for
gotten one, but the one he had cherished fol
the future with defiant tenderness the one
wherewith he meant to shame the paltTy crowd
that Knocked and Inundated him-nlght mo-
that give her a glimpse at the proud Won
Craven soul that dwelt III his miserable form
might not that win him the admiration
which in a womans heart nestles 50 close u
her lovei This possibility filed his soul
haunting him by day and by night He wa,
tis"- AaGar for martyrdom spyine
| anxiously for chance to throw away m
| life gloriously For ne faced, without quail
| ng, the thought of death as final vlndica
| ton he was quite content to sacrifice his life
10 his sweet revenge. 1t occurred to him al
| lines. amid his manifold tOrturing doubts
| hat the presentation of the sacrifice and 1t:
| 4itpreSted motive robbed it of its sublimlty
nat, in fact, n was nothing but a kind Oh
Waited vanity And yet this deep hunger
for praise for recognition. for love whlct
| gnawed like sleepieSs worm at his heart
why vas 1t Soriid why ignoble Nc darIn7
ambition invade a narrow, commonplace
soul No feverish craving for greatness dis
turb7 the sluggish repose of a Sordid, eartl
| ciogged creature.
| Crooked John was poor company at din
ner in those days, and the judge com
| planned loudly that he had turne6
his birthday party into funeral
He had told solemn stories which had
made every one feel depressed When he
| left, early in the evening, the Judge swore ht
| would give him a piece of his mind the mex
time he saw him The fact was, Crooked
John felt ill at ease now among the gay
feasters. Whenever he met Helen's grand
mother carrying bundles of fagots upon her
back, he scrutinized her face anxiousiy to see
if it was true, as she said, that death already
had her in its clutch.
Il am a-pegging down hill, sir" was the
melancholy refrain of her lamentations,
land when | am dead sir, there is nothing
for the little lass but the poor house"
This thought of Helen in the poor house-the
shy, delicate girl III that miserable house, sur,
rounded by coarse and degraded creatures
was potent enough to divert his mind from
his own troubles. He pondered and pom
dered, and only involved himself IN per.
picking maze of doubts and conflicting senti
ments. He quite forgot about his heroic
deed in his anxiety for Helen. He must save
her-yes, he must save her from doom that
would be worse than death If she were only
not so helpless if she could only see! If she
could seel But who knew whether her blind
ness was incurable! He sprang up from hi,
bed and began wildly to pace the floor of hi:
narrow ROOM as this idea struck him, that
Helen might regain her sight. The nexi
morning he walked eleven miles to the
county physician and begged him. as if by
chance, and without mentioning his name, tc
examine Helen'seyes. He waited breathlessly
for the result down at the river bank. When al
the end of half all hour the physician
emerged from the hut, Crooked John anxious
ly scanned his features.
'Will she see2' he cried Twill she seef"
That depends" answered the doctor.